Effect of Paralympic powerlifting training on sleep and its relationship with training load

Abstract Aim: This study aims to compare the sleep parameters in Paralympic powerlifting athletes during days with and without training, and to analyze the relationship between the training load and sleep on the same day and the relationship between the previous night's sleep and the training load of the following day. Methods: Actigraphy was used to analyze the sleep parameters of 11 Paralympic powerlifting athletes for 14 days (7 days without and with training), whereas Ratings of Perceived Exertion (RPE) analysis was used to assess training load. In addition, the Horne and östberg chronotype questionnaire and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale were applied. Results: Athletes show morning and indifferent chronotype and low daytime sleepiness. We found that on training days, sleep onset latency (SOL) was lower (average 5.3 min faster), whereas total sleep time (TST) and sleep efficiency (SE) were higher (TST averaged 169 min and SE 7% higher) compared to non-training days. In addition, the TST of the night before the training days correlated positively with the RPE of the following day, and the training volume correlated negatively with the SE of the same day. Conclusion: Our findings show that Paralympic powerlifting training had positive effects in increasing TST and SE and decreasing SOL on training days. These results show the positive effects of this type of training in improving sleep in athletes with physical disabilities. In addition, a good night's sleep the day before training can make it possible to put more effort into the next day's training. Therefore, guiding athletes to sleep more before training with more intense loads is recommended.

Comparison between ActiGraph GT3X and ActivPAL to assess sedentary behavior during the school period

Abstract Aims: This study aimed to compare the sedentary time measured using the ActiGraph GT3X accelerometer with the measurement of sitting and standing time obtained by ActivPAL inclinometers. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted with a sample of 60 schoolchildren (34 males) of one elementary public school in Brazil. The students used both an ActiGraph GT3X accelerometer and an ActivPAL inclinometer, concurrently, positioned at the beginning and removed at the end of the school shift, for four days. For analysis, paired Student's t-tests, Pearson's correlation coefficients, intraclass correlation coefficients, and Bland-Altman plots were used. Results: When comparing sedentary time with sitting time, although correlated (r = 0.53; p < 0.001), the mean minutes were different (134.2 min/day in ActiGraph GT3X vs 120.3 min/day in ActivPAL; p < 0.001), with a bias of 13.9 min/day. When comparing the measurement of sedentary time with the sum of the sitting time plus standing time, different mean minutes were also observed (134.2 min/day in ActiGraph GT3X vs 177.0 min/day in ActivPAL; p < 0.001), and although the correlation was stronger (r = 0.75; p < 0.001), the bias was higher (−42.8 min/day). Conclusion: Sedentary time derived from the ActiGraph GT3X device should be used with caution to evaluate sedentary behavior in a school setting and may be interpreted only as non-moving activities (stationary behavior).

Dietary assessment in the 1993 Pelotas (Brazil) birth cohort study: comparing energy intake with energy expenditure / Avaliação dietética da coorte de nascimentos de Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil, 1993: uma comparação da ingestão e do gasto de energia

The study aims to describe and compare two methods of energy intake assessment and one measure of energy expenditure applied in adolescents from a birth cohort. In a sub-sample of the 1993 Pelotas (Brazil) birth cohort, followed up in 2006-7, information on intake was obtained through a food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and three 24-hour-recalls (24hR), while energy expenditure was assessed using an accelerometer. Bland & Altman plots were used in the analyses in order to compare the methods. The mean difference between FFQ and 24hR was 592 ± 929cal/day. Compared to energy expenditure, intake was overestimated when measured by FFQ (357 ± 968cal/day) and underestimated by 24hR (-278 ± 714cal/day). In spite of the great differences between energy intake obtained using the two methods, lower differences were observed when these methods were compared to expenditure.

O objetivo do estudo foi descrever e comparar dois métodos de avaliação de consumo calórico e uma medida de gasto energético aplicados em adolescentes de uma coorte de nascimentos. Em uma subamostra da coorte de 1993 de Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil, acompanhada em 2006-2007, informações sobre consumo calórico foram obtidas através de questionário de frequência alimentar (QFA) e três recordatórios de 24 horas (R24h), enquanto gasto energético foi avaliado por acelerômetro. Gráficos de Bland & Altman foram usados na comparação dos métodos. A diferença média entre QFA e R24h foi 592 ± 929cal/dia. Ao comparar com gasto energético, o consumo foi superestimado se medido pelo QFA (357 ± 968cal/dia) e subestimado pelo R24h (-278 ± 714cal/dia). Apesar da grande diferença no consumo, menores diferenças foram observadas quando os dois métodos foram comparados ao gasto energético.